It's rainy season here and it is difficult to find a rainless window of time long enough to go for a substantial hike. I had hoped to go on a like hike on one or another of the 100 Famous Mountains but the weather didn't cooperate. I gave on hoping for clear skies this weekend and decided to stay fairly close to home and go for a short hike in the rain rather than do nothing. Since I already have about 20 hikes planned, it was easy to choose one within these parameters; Mt. Monogatari just over the prefectural border in Gunma fit the bill nicely.
A word about the title, "Monogatari" is the Japanese word for tale, fable, or legend. The rest of the title is self-explanatory. As far as why the mountain was actually named monogatari, there are two legends from the warring period (sengoku jidai), one or the other of which the locals surmise it has something to do with.
Total Time: 3:39 Break time: 3 Distance: A bit over 8 km
Elevation:Lowest: 392m Highest: 1,019m Total Ascent: 921 Total Descent: 921
Technical considerations/difficulty: Steep in many spots. There are a lot of ropes that were helpful on the way down. Much of this hike is along/through streams. There are a lot of leeches. The trail isn't too difficult to follow but isn't maintained. It's covered with old fallen leaves or loose rocks in most places. The footing coming down wasn't great. The stones were loose and would often roll away when stepped on. The wetness of the stones made them slippery, too.
Facilities: Nothing on the trail
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: I am led to believe this has a nice view of Mt. Myogi--a really cool mountain--but was robbed of any views because of the weather. That's too bad. I'm not sure if I should go back in better weather or not though. The hike itself wasn't spectacular and there are only one or two viewpoints to justify the hike.
I also added a side hike to Ashonen Falls (阿唱念の滝). The falls turned out to be just a trickle at this time of year. I don't know that I'd recommend it at any time of year, however. Getting up to it meant crossing through a stream several times and I was attacked by more leeches than I could count. I can't imagine how much water would be flowing through that stream at a time of year when the falls are worth viewing.
Today's listening: Lots of birds, babbling brooks and Bible in a Year
The hike:
Let's look at a few pictures.
Starting out:
The top of Monogatari
The viewpoint from the western peak. Isn't that spectacular?
In case you didn't know them, these are the names of the mountains you saw in the last picture.
...and some more.
".9 km to the falls? That should take me about 15 minutes." (It was more like 45. 😂)
The stream flows over the bridge.
The mind boggles at the amount of effort, expense and engineering that went into making an underwater bridge.
I found a cave in my mancave today! This was cool.
This is the falls. It was anticlimactic.
I used this entire shaker of salt on this hike. Thankfully, none of the little bloodsuckers attached themselves to me.
Before heading home, I drove about 5 minutes to see the Dohirakawa Dam and Lake Arafune.
Elevation:Lowest: 1,601 Highest: 1,931m Total Ascent: 476m Total Descent: 476m
Technical considerations/difficulty: A little steep in places, but mostly runnable.
Facilities: Nothing
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
Very excited about the opportunities for hiking with the long summer days. I can escape work with enough sunlight to get in a nice, short hike before the sun goes down.
Peaks bagged: Kurumazaka Yarigasaya Tominokashira Kurofu
Getting there/getting around: There is a large parking lot behind the visitor's center. There is also bus service to Komoro, Sakudaira, and even Shinjuku. JRBusKanto runs a bus from the Shinjuku Bus Terminal. It takes 4 hours and costs ¥3,400. I think there is one departing Shinjuku around 10:30 and a return bus at 16:20.
Map: Yama to Kogen Chizu 19浅間山軽井沢・長野原の山々ASAMA-YAMA KARUIZAWA-NAGANOHARA-MOUNTAINS
Elevation:Lowest: 1,966m Highest: 2,404m Total Ascent: 493 Total Descent: 493
Technical considerations/difficulty: This is a fairly straightforward hike. It's not very long. The trailhead is at a mountain pass so you're already as high up as a car can take you. Most of the hike is below the treeline but when you pop out onto the peaks on the edge of the valley facing Mt. Asama it is a bit dizzying. There are no chains or ladders, but you do need to scramble over some boulders. I really wouldn't want to slip off of one of those rocks. Alltrails calls this hike "hard". YAMAP gives it 3 out of 5 for "strength". I don't know if I'd call it hard...Perhaps if you only put on your hiking boots once in a while.
At the visitor's center, there are the ubiquitous warnings about bears. I'm starting to pay a little more attention to them because there do seem to be more bear encounters in this corner or Nagano and Gunma than I'm accustomed to in other areas. That said, I am still not getting a bear bell. Wow, I find them obnoxious.
Facilities: The visitor's center is remarkably clean and large. There's a snack bar, rental helmets, poles, gaiters, brochures, some items of clothing for sale, vending machines, and restrooms. It's a happening place. Next to that is the Takamine Kogen Hotel which has a commanding view of the valley below and Yatsugatake beyond. Behind the hotel, there are more restrooms open 24 hours a day. There is no water on the trail. There is a very rudimentary emergency shelter on the trail. It's basically just a big tube open on both ends. I assume this is purposed more for protection from eruption than for anything else.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations: This hike was a bit of daytime reconnaissance for doing the same trail in the dark later this summer. When I was doing some trail research the other day, I came across an ad for a tour to see "Diamond Asama" at sunrise: Diamond Asama tour . That sounds like fun! I learned about the diamond effect from Mt. Fuji. As the sun sets or rises directly behind the mountain, rays of light get super bright. Now, I think it's nice that these people are giving a tour to see the effect--but they are charging money. One of the things the caveman dislikes--almost as much as he dislikes pretentious jerks who refer to themselves in the third person--is spending money. Armed with the date and place when the diamond effect is likely to occur, I decided to check out the trail in daylight ahead of time. It was a great excuse to go for a short hike after work on a Thursday afternoon!
Thankfully, there was another brief window of nice weather in this rainy season so that I could do it! We have had a few days of real torrential downpours recently so yesterday's clear weather was just the bees knees. It was almost as good as sliced bread.
And, hiking at that time of day, on a weekday no less, meant that I had the trail and peaks all to myself.
I saw this guy on my way up the road to the trailhead. I call him Fred. Fred the animal.
Inside the visitor's center
Looking down toward Komoro and Saku cities.
Much of the trail is like this. At spots, there are rhododendrons, too.
The Shelter. This is not your usual mountain shelter. I assume it's to shelter during an eruption. I've seen similar ones on the other side of Mt. Asama, too.
That is Mt. Asama. The air quality level is still such that we can't go near the crater. I can't wait until we can.
I live down there. Can't you see my house?
Heading back down
The hotel is on the left side.
The Bus Stop
Looking west
That's all for today. Thanks for dropping by my cave. Come back again. Subscribe if you feel like it. Leave a comment if you are of a mind to.
